Horizon Ag Field Day in Kaplan Highlights New Varieties and the Case for Domestic Aromatic Rice

Rice growers and industry partners gathered last month at Richard Farms in Kaplan for Horizon Ag’s annual Louisiana Field Day, spending an evening reviewing the 2026 crop season, previewing upcoming variety releases and hearing directly from university and industry leaders on what is shaping the future of U.S. rice.

CLL20, a new Clearfield® rice variety developed by LSU AgCenter, is targeted for commercial release in 2027. It is a semi-dwarf variety with strong ratoon potential and yield performance comparable to CLL18.

“The milling on CLL20 is outstanding. It outperforms CLL18 and CLL19 in most situations, even when conditions get tough. That consistency is what sets it apart,” said Dr. María Montiel, Rice Breeder, Horizon Ag.

The field day also introduced PVJ01, a Provisia® Jasmine variety developed by LSU AgCenter, with commercial availability through Horizon Ag targeted for 2028. The variety addresses a growing constraint in the domestic Jasmine market. “The mills want to expand Jasmine production but they’re limited by how many clean acres are available,” said Dr. Adam Famoso, Rice Breeder at the LSU AgCenter. “PVJ01 gives growers a way to control weedy rice in Jasmine, which opens up ground that wasn’t an option before.”

Cameron Jacobs, Vice President, Domestic Promotion, USA Rice, presented data on the domestic Jasmine market that reinforced the opportunity. Consumer demand for U.S.-grown Jasmine rice is growing, awareness is rising and the category is gaining ground on restaurant menus and in retail. CLJ01 is already the dominant variety on domestic Jasmine acres, with more than 30,000 of the roughly 50,000 Jasmine acres in the southern U.S. planted to it this season.

“The growth we’re seeing in the demand for Jasmine rice domestically is real, and it’s accelerating,” said Jacobs. “U.S. growers have a genuine opportunity to capture market share that has gone to imports for years.”

“Our long grain export markets have been under pressure for a long time,” said Dr. Tim Walker, CEO of Horizon Ag. “At the same time, rice imports into the USA have increased exponentially. The domestic aromatic market is a real opportunity to maintain or grow rice acres at home, and we intend to be positioned to capture it.”

Walker addressed the broader acreage situation directly. Combined U.S. rice acres may be approaching levels not seen since the early 1970s. The investment required to bring new herbicide systems, fungicides and varieties to market depends on growers having enough acres to justify it. Horizon Ag’s response is to keep investing regardless. The company’s breeding program is advancing lines developed directly by Horizon Ag, a milestone Walker said is closer than most in the industry expect.

“We are committed to this industry for the long term,” Walker said. “That means putting resources into breeding, into partnerships and into varieties that give growers a reason to stay in rice. When our growers succeed, the industry succeeds with them.”